This incredible footage of a massive great white shark caught in shallow water is going viral

You must enter the characters with black color that stand out from the other characters

This video of a great white shark thrashing around in shallow water has the internet taking a collective gasp.

It’s not often that we see such up-close-and-personal video of a great white shark in action, and when we do, it’s generally hundreds of feet under water via a brave soul holding a camera in a shark cage. But not this video!

In this breathtaking footage, dive boat operator Dale Pearson captures a great white shark thrashing and splashing in just 3 feet of water. Check out the video below (but be warned, Pearson is totally taken aback by his shark encounter, so he uses some pretty choice language! If you don’t like swear words, you can simply mute your device and still enjoy this awesome footage.)

Here it is:

As you can see in the video, the great white appears to be badly wounded. (Which would help to explain his uncharacteristic behavior of splashing about in the shallows.) The 14-foot shark likely was injured by the blades of a boat propeller.

However, this video was taken in a remote area of Baja California, Mexico. As Pearson explains, “There is no phone service of any kind. You can not call anyone for help.” In other words, they couldn’t call any marine wildlife experts to help tend to the shark’s wounds.

But, don’t worry. Pearson says that the shark moved continuously, and despite probably being in pain, “It had total control over where it was and how deep of water it was in.” Experts agree with Pearson’s experience, saying that great whites are extremely tough and have wonderful healing ability. (Hey, they’ve been around for over 400 million years and they even outlived the dinosaurs, so you figure they gotta know a thing or two about survival.)

And, while many people are terrified of sharks (especially great whites), the reality is that 100 million sharks are killed by humans each year, and you are more likely to be killed by a falling coconut than a shark. In fact, as you can see in this footage, the people in the water are not injured by the shark… but by the stingrays in the water! Ouch. However, Pearson says, “All three people in the water that day received injuries from stingrays. After weeks of antibiotics and medications they will recover.”

As for the great white in this video, the story does have a happy ending. Pearson says, “After 30 minutes in the shallow water the shark swam away under its own power and was seen for the next 2 days.”

Whew. Glad to see this beautiful creature lived to swim another day. To learn more about sharks and shark conservation efforts, please visit Project Aware.